Adventures in chess

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ADVENTURE IN CHESS hy

ASSIAC

The

most difficult position of all

TURNSTILE PRESS 10

LIMITED

GREAT TuRNsTILE, LoNDoN,

W.C.r

Io

First published in I 9 5 I by Turnstile Press Limited, Great Turnstile, London, W.C. I Printed

The Camelot

in Great Britain by Southampton

Press Ltd., London and

CONTENTS Introduction

Page I

Part I HIS M.AJESTr, HIS OFFICERS .AND MEN I.

2. 3·

4. 5. 6.

The Long Arm of the Queen The Rook was Called an Elephant The Bishop is No Fool Knights are Still Bold Not So Humble Pawns His Majesty Steps Out

9 14 19 24 29 33

Part II SPIRIT .AND MATTER I.

2. 3·

4.

5.

Bitter End for Snatch Polygamy The Element of Time The Draw Sacri ficial Orgies

41 49 52 57

67

Part

Ill

E/7EN CHESS-PL.ArERS .ARE HUM.AN I.

2. 3·

Bad Luck and Missed Opportunities Scourge and Blessing of the Clock Faster than Ping-pong v

81

92 99

CONTENTS

4· 5.

Page

Brevities

103

How Far Can You See?

106

6.

Pin-point a Pattern

114

7·

Nothing New Under the Sun

119

Part 117 STUDIES AND PROBLEMS I.

2.

Fact and Fiction

125

Too Many Cooks

130

3·

More than M e ets the Eye

132

4.

Materialism in Wonderland

137

5.

Food for Thought

140

Part 17 ODDS AND ENDS I.

2.

147

Odds on Odds Playing the Man or the Board

1 56

3·

The Freemasonry of Chess-players

160

4.

The Queen was Tired

166

5.

Breach of Privilege

169

6.

Whimsies

17 1

Epilogue

180

Solutions

185

Index

191

Vl

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I WIS H to express my thanks to the Editor of the New Statesman and Nation for his kind permission to use (or, rather, to elaborate and enlarge on) some of my articles published in that j ournal. It is no less pleasing to acknowledge my debt of gratitude to Hunter Diack for his invaluable help in looking through the typescript and proofs with infinite patience and wisdom. Finally, I wish to thank many readers of the New Statesman -far too many to permit individual mention-for much inspiration and encouragement, and in particular those whose contributions could be accommodated in this book. ASSIAC.

January, I 9 51.

Vil

INTRO DUCTION THIS is n ot meant to be a primer on Chess, nor a gui de to acquaint the advanced playe r with the m ore subtle points of end-game te ch ni qu e or the merits and demerits of the Grilnfeld Defence and the McCutcheon Va r iati o n It is rathe r an attempt to convey something of the sheer beauty of Chess, its pe rfec t harmo ny, its inexhaustible wealth of ideas. There are those who will go so far as to link Chess with Johann Sebastian Bach's fugues, because of its crystal clarity. I even heard a German philosopher speak of Chess in terms of the Kantian Ding an sich. But let that pass. Nor should we worry too much about those so smitten with the inherent ha rmony of Chess as to compare it with the equally pe rfec t h armony of the sectio aurea which the ancient Greeks and Romans endowed with an almost mythical quality. However that may be, even among the l ess d ith yra mbi c admirers of Chess there are many who will claim that the game is not only a sci ence but an art too. A science because you can fil l many shelves with e ru d ite theoretical works; an art because it gives its practitioners an opportunity of expressing thei r individual style and ch arac ter All this may well be so, but I think we should never forget that whatever else Chess may be (o r may be imagined to be), it certa i nl y is a game that can have as satisfying and, alas, as time­ absorbing an effect on its addicts as, say, music. Those who are once captivated will soon admit the truth of the old adage : 'No fool can play Chess, and only fools do.' But some of us will never tire of such folly, and to some of us it may indeed have become an obsession soon after we mastered the rules of the game A mere knowledge of these rules is all that is requ i red from the reader of this book. He should know the names of the pieces and how they move, and if he has some little experience of no tatio n, so much the better. But if the reader happens to be a v ery advanced .

.

.

I

INTRODUCTION

player, I should like him, just for once, to stop taking those familiar rules for granted. I would like him to attempt an entirely fresh approach to the odd symbolism of the pieces and their moves. I should like him to feel the relentless quality of the Rook's powerful swoop up and down the straights, the vice-like grip of his control as he frowns at a far-away Pawn held to a standstill at the other end of the board. Think of the sly Bishop as he slides up and down his diagonals, shrewdly executing some fierce flank attack, viciously squinting at an enemy piece which he is keeping firmly pinned way down the diagonal. Look at the Queen, that mighty fighter combining within her graceful form the steamroller-power of the Rook and the subtle agility of the Bishop, a power and a speed so often decisive when one of her own Bishops or Rooks is pushing or pulling her to administer the knockout blow to the enemy King. Think of the Knight, that crazy 'jumper' (as the Germans call him), that gay cavalier (as he is known to the French); think of the uncanny harmony in which his queer capers blend with the movements of his colleagues on the board; think of the deadly effect, when, like a gallant swinging two rapiers he impales two foes at one swoop, both mortally hit over the heads of their fellows and pawns. Those Pawns! That loyal line of foot-sloggers, arranged in tidy battle order in front of their betters! Solidly and stolidly marching forward, one step at a time! But, alas! they may soon find them­ selves blocked and halted unless, like fierce little dogs they can yap out to the left and to the right and thus bite their way forth. Of them it has been truly said that each one carries the marshal's baton in his knapsack. For theirs is the privilege of dizzy pro­ motion, if only they can march to the end of the road. But few can. The rate of casualties among them is appallingly high. Many must fall for one to get through. Whilst the end of their road, if ever they reach it, is graced with the greatest privilege of all, just so the beginning of their perilous journey is blessed by privilege; a minor one to be sure, but one at any rate that each can safely enjoy, unless it be decreed otherwise.._by the spirit that guides them. It is the privilege of 2

I N T R O D U C T IO N

making a double step to begin with. Yet, such is the inexorable justice of Chess that the privilege of the one double step is can­ celled whenever it involves crossing the firing line of an enemy Pawn. There he stands, proudly advanced to his 5 th rank and growling fiercely: 'Trying to slip past me, eh ? Privilege of double step, eh ? Not while I stand here ! Privilege be damned ! I'll catch you well enough, j ust where your one step ends, one modest little step such as the rest of us take all the time !' How right he is, but-and here is j ustice good and true-he has got to make his catch at once. Once the two-stepper has slid past, no one can rob him of his privilege. Once past the danger­ zone, he is safe--safe from that one foe next door at any rate. Think of all that when next you take a Pawn en passant; and when scribbling on your score-sheet : 'PX P e.p.,' try, for once, to forget your routine, try to work up some feeling for that brave little Pawn, deprived at one blow of his privilege and his very life. He dies, of course, for his King, that most elusive and most precious of all Chess-men. Priceless rather ! For while the Queen, precious though she is, still has her market value, and might well be swapped or even sacrificed with advantage, the mere thought is unthinkable so far as the King is concerned. He cannot be swapped or offered at any price. He cannot be taken at all ; a mere threat to him ranks as absolute top-priority all over the board, and must be dealt with instantly. Once the threat can no longer be averted, it is all over. But we do not wait for the King to be cap­ tured. No one has ever seen the King die. For at the very moment before such fate is inevitable the lights go out all over the board, and all life ceases. What intense drama there is in this situation ! Next time you either suffer or administer a mate try to fathom the feelings not of the doomed King but of his subjects. Put yourself into the hard­ trodden shoes of that indefatigable foot-slogger the Pawn. There he stands, the plucky little chap. Having braved incredible perils, one of the few of his fellows to survive, here he stands as far advanced as his seventh rank. One more little step and he would be turned into a Queen. Nothing to stop him--except that his King is about to die, and so must his loyal Pawn. Instantly. So must the valiant Knight who, only a move or two ago, was so full of 3

INTRODUCTION

energy, so proud of his unique capers, which even the Queen could never emulate. Even now he stood elegantly poised to deal a mortal blow to the enemy King. Too late! His own King is doomed, and so are forthwith all the King's officers and men. What manner of man is that most astonishing of all Chess-men, the King? In appearance as be fits a King he is more imposing than any in his realm; he is taller even than the Queen, for, of course, he wears a crown. Yet, when it comes to physical prowess, he isn't much shakes! And why should he be? Has he not all his people to fend for him? Not for him the straight swoop of the powerful Rook, nor the di agonal flash of the shrewd Bishop, let alone the capricious capers of the ubiquitous Knight. If His Majesty's own activity can be likened to one of his subjects at all -but of course it can't-it would have to be that of the Pawn. Like that tough little soldier, the K ing can only make one step at a time. But they are stately steps. Sometimes a little gingerly. After all, the old boy doesn't get much exercise. As a matter of fact, though he may step out in any direction, even backwards, the King's mobility may well be even more restricted than that of his humblest subject, that other one-stepper, that indefatigable forward marcher, the Pawn. For unlike his officers and men who can fearlessly rub shoulders with the enemy, the King must never stay exposed even to a breath of anger from the other side; not to the dangerous frown of the enemy Rooks, nor to the ugly squint of their Bishops and the fearful leap of their Knights, not even to the nasty little bite of an enemy Pawn. They all must be kept at arm's length from His Majesty. Small wonder that the King leads a sheltered life. As soon as possible, by dint of that wizardry that can happen to him only once in his lifetime, he is 'castled' away to a safe corner with the powerful Rook at his side, and three brave little Pawns standing guard in front of him. And as likely as not, there the King will stay for more than half of his lifetime, unmoved and watching stoically how his valiant troops hurl themselves into the fray to do or die for him. Some time, maybe, he will make a gingerly step sidewards to the extreme corner, a mere precaution lest His l'v1ajesty's former residence be exposed to some nasty draught from an enemy Bishop, just in case

4

INTRO D UCTI ON

the King's own Bishop's Pawn might be sent forward on a suicide mission towards the enemy King's Pawn, so as to prise open the Bishop's file for the Rook's attack against the enemy at the cost of his life. It is only when the tumult and the shouting dies and when the smoke of battle is clearing away-a mere figure of speech, for as likely as not it will be just at this tricky stage of the end-game getting under way that the real smoke emanating from the pipes and cigarettes of the guiding spirits will cloud the board more densely than ever-it will be at this stage of the game that the King will venture forth from his sheltered corner and take a very active part indeed. True, he will still step out rather gingerly, so long as there are enough enemies left to endanger or merely to molest him. But once the field is clear His Majesty will move forward as smartly as his humblest Pawn, maybe to give his strong support to one or another of these loyal chaps who is about to reach out for the glory of promotion or perish in the attempt. But even now the King must be kept at arm's length from the enemy. He mustn't rub shoulders with those on the other side, even with their Royalty. Thus when the moment of triumph approaches the King will arrogantly plant himself facing his royal foe as near as he may get to him. Just near enough indeed to con­ tain him. And here he stands, staring haughtily at the foe and waiting for one of his own loyal men to deal the mortal blow. *

*

*

I t seems that somehow after all I did deal with the rules of the game and the movements of the pieces. Now let us have a closer look at the strange ways in which their guiding sp i rit moves those pieces on the Chess-board.

5

Part

I

HIS MA'JESTr, HIS OFFICERS AND MEN

I

THE LONG ARM OF THE QUEEN

EVEN a fanatical repu bli can, if he happens to be a C hess-player, will consider it fitting that , being His Majesty's consort, the Queen is only j ust inferior to him in size and beauty, she too towe ring over all officers and other ra nks. It is no less fitting that she should occupy the place of honour next to her royal master-at the begin ning at any rate. For sooner or later, and particularly once His Maj esty has been sheltered in a quiet corner, the Queen will venture forth into battle. Sooner or later, she will have to throw her weight about, for she is far too powerful to be wasted on minor errands or to be kept in reserve for any length of time. I said sooner or later, but it had be tt er not be too soon. For i n deed , it's because she is so fleet-footed that the Queen is so powerful a weapon and yet at the same time so easy a prey to temptation. She needs to be handled as carefully as any spiri ted thoroughbred, and she has to be looked after as expertly as any supercharged engine. She may well rise to glorious triumph and yet again sh e migh t come a cropper more often, more speedily (and certainly more expensively) than any of her less highly­ strung colleagues. Queens (on the Chess-board) have been known to go astray as early as this : 1.

2.

P-K4 P-Q4

3.

4-·

P-K5 B-Q3

Q-B4 Resi gns

It may well be said that only a duffer would lose his Queen as early as all that. But even masters are not immune. See how the great Spielmann sent his Queen astray qui te early in his game against Botvinnik at Moscow, 19 3 5: B 9

HIS MAJESTY, I.

2.

3·

+. 5. 6.

P-QB4 P-K4 KPxP P-Q+ Kt-QB3 B-Kt5

H

IS

OFFICERS

P-QB3 P-Q4 BPxP Kt-KB3 Kt- QB 3 Q-Kt3

7·

8.

9.

IO. I I.

AND

ME N

PxP R-BI Kt-R4 B-QB4 Kt-KB3

QxKtP? Kt - QK t 5 QxRP B-Kt5 Resigns

One of the neatest Oueen-catches I have ever seen is this one which occurred at Fr�kfurt in 1939, with Heuacker, a well­ known German problemist as the catcher and Quabeck as th e

victim: I.

2. 3·

4. 5.

6.

P-KB4 P-QB4 PxP P-Q3 PxKP B-Q2

Kt-KB3 P-Q4 KtxP P-K4! B Kt5 ch Kt-K6!

7·

8. 9· IO. I I. 1 2.

-

Q-R4 ch? Q-KtJ Q-R4 ch QxP ch Q-Kt7 Resigns

B-Q2 B-K3 P-Kt4 B-Q2 B-B3

Here, finally, is yet another and particularly shrewd Larsson-Englund, 1942: 1.

2. 3.

4.

5. 6.

7.

P-K4 P-KB4 KPxP Kt-KB3 P-Q4 P-B4 QKt-Q2

8.

P-K4 P-Q4 PxP Kt-KB3 KtxP B-Kt5 ch Kt-K6

9.

IO. I I. 12. I3.

Q- R 4 ch Q-Kt3 K-B2 K-Ktr P-KR3 Resigns

!

example,

B-Q2 Q-K2 K t- Q 8 ch Kt-B6 B-R5

The trouble of course is that the Queen is so very , very precious. She is sometimes so precious as to be almost a bore. Since we cannot afford to keep her in cold storage, certainly not while her opposite number is throwing her weight about, and since we can even less afford to lose her, it certainly saves a lot of worry if we try decently to get rid of her. Swapping so precious a property is, of course, a major transaction and if we can't g e t a good bargain, we must certain!y try not to get a bad one; we just can't afford it with so much valuable property at stake. After all, being worth about the equivalent of two Rooks or three of the other pieces-that, at any

IO

THE L O N G ARM

OF

THE

QUEE N

rate, is her normal market price-the Queen does represent a very substantial percentage of our total capital investment. How nice if we can afford to ignore such sordid considerations, and if we can achieve so strong a position that we need no longer bother about the mere market price of our most valuable property! It's being so valuable that makes the Queen such a thrilling obj ect for a sacri fice. Ostensibly to throw the precious thing away like so much waste and yet to know that we are going to get even better value than we give-that is the Chess-player's delight . Here-Schuster-Carls, Bremen, I 9 I 4-the lady was sacrificed for a mere Bishop, only to be reincarnated a couple of moves later and with all expenses recovered with compound interest : I. 2. 3· 4. 5. 6.

P-K4 P-Q4 Kt-QB3 Kt x P Kt-Kt3 B-KKt5

P-QB3 P-Q4 PxP Kt-B3 P-KR4 P-R5

7.

8.

9·

IO.

I I. I 2.

B x Kt B-K5 RxR P-B3 P xQ Kt-B3

P x Kt R x RP! Q-R4 ch QxB ch P xR P queens

Here she is again and with a much-improved balance sheet too. Sound business that! Here, of course, it was merely a case of getting a good material bargain, but it seems to be more thrilling still to sacri fice the Queen for the chance of immediate victory by giving the coup de grace to the enemy King. Here is j ust one famous example. In this position-Levitzky­ Marshall, B reslau, I 9 I 2-the latter played Q-KKt6. It is reported that this move so delighted some of the onlookers that they rewarded Marshall with a 'shower of gold coins.' The extent of the shower is not reported. Yet somehow it seems fitting enough that this particular feat drew glittering and merrily clinking gold rather than a few notes or a cheque. II

H IS MAJESTY,

HIS

O F F I C E RS

AND MEN

It isn't every day, t hough , that a Chess-player gets a chanc e of sacrificing his Q ue e n. The reader had b et te r get used to a less frivolous attitude towards the lady. Just see how very powerful she can be when given the slightest chance. Look how apparently ha rmle ssl y and idly the Black Queen k e eps in the backgr o und in this position­ Bruck-Gandolfi, Milan, 1939and then see how with a mi g hty swoop she races into battle and decides the issue there and then. It was s i mply that White had made the mistake of playing R X B, wh er eupo n Black played R­ KR3 ch, followed by R-R8 ch, Q-R6, and mate next move. Here is another example of the Q ueen's great versatility. This position did not ac t uall y occur in a game ; it is a problem, composed (in 1907) by Heathcote-Marble,just to exemplify the great prowess of th e Queen. The very s impl e key-move is Q-K6, and whatever Black does, the Que en will deliver the mate in the next move. Th ere are in fact as many as twelve ways in which she can do it. (This pretty example was suggested by W. H. Cozens,one ofthe stalwartsin the New Statesman competitions.) Yet even on the wide open spaces

•

of

a very sparsely populated board the Queen may well show extraord ­ inary powers, even if opposed by her colleague on the enemy side. Here is a very pretty case in po in t ; a famous st udy by Horwitz. (See next page.) White wins forcibly like this: 1. Q-K3 ch K-B4 (forced) 5. Q-Kt8 ch Q-K1 2. Q-KB3 ch K-K3 6. Q-Q6 ch K-Kt1 Q-QKt3ch K-K2 3. 7 . B-K 7 ! , etc. +·

B-Kt5 ch

K-BI

12

THE

L ONG

ARM

OF

THE QUE E N

Had Black played 4-· K-K 1 White would have by Q-Kt8 ch, followed by Q-Kt7 and mate on BS! •

•

•

•

won

No l ess instructive is another famous Horwitz study, White simply playing Q-K4. If Black takes the Pawn, checking, the White King goes to B6, followed by d i scovered check and mate. Black is unable to stop either such mate or the exchang e of Queens, wh ile the White Pawn is still there to be promoted.

13

2

THE ROOK WAS CALLED AN ELEPHANT

IT is very signi fl.cant that in many ancient and artistic sets the Rook is shaped like an elephant. A fitting symbol indeed for his relentlessly straightforward character. There is nothing sly about him, and little that could be very surprising. He likes the wide open spaces to roam around. Cramp him for space and he will be helpless, frustrated and often weaker than a mere Pawn. But give him the elbow-room he needs to use his brawn and muscle, and he will be in his element. The Rook is a glutton for open files, and he likes disciplined team-work. He loves lording it over a file, better still with his colleague to push or pull him. Then the two of them are truly a tower of strength, and once they push and shove their way into the 7th rank they are almost invincible. They are not up to clever tricks, but give them their own stuff to do, good, honest steamroller-work, and you can safely rely on them. Each of them is as strong as an ox-nay, an elephant-and as patient as Job. They have to be. For they might well have to wait till very near the end-game before really and truly getting into their stride. They hardly ever get a chance to shine in brevities. But here-Landau-Tenkate, Rotterdam, 1929-is an exception: I.

2.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9·

IO.

P-Q4 P-QB4 Kt-KB3 Kt-B3 B-Kt5 P-K3 R-B1 B-Q3 PxP KtxKt

P-Q4 P-QB3 Kt----KB3 P-K3 B-K2 QKt-Q2

l I.

12. l 3. 14. l 5. 16. l 7· 18. 19.

0-0

P-QKt3? KtxP BP xKt

20.

14.

BxB

R-B7! Q-Q2 KxQ KR-QB1 R (r)-B6 R-Q6 Kt-K5 Kt-B6

B-Kt 5!

QxB Q-Kt5ch QxQch P-QR3 R-Q1 P-R3 K-B1 K-K1 P-QR4 Resigns

THE

R OOK

WAS

CAL L E D

AN

E LE P H A N T

To show the steamroller quality no less than the loyalty of the Rooks, here-Brinckmann-Keller, Oynh au sen, 1939-is a pretty example of how the two White Rooks throw themselves into battle on a suicide mission . With two mighty blows they breach the defence of the enemy King, thus giving their own Queen the chance of elegantly administering the coup de grt1ce: I. 2.

3·

R xR K xR

R-Q8 ! R-R 7 ch Q-B7 ch

and mate next move. To show the extraordinary power of the Rooks once they have reached the 7 th rank, there is no prettier example than this famous stu dy by H. Rinck : White plays I. R (6)-R 7 , threatening mate in two. Black's relatively best answer is R­ KKtr. But now White wins by K R-B 7 ch, followed by another Rook check, and by K-B 7 , thus forcing either mate or the win of the Rook. I have once before praised the team spirit of the Rooks. Once it is broken, one might well say of them : ' Divided they fall!' Here to exemplify the point, is a very pretty study by G. M . Kasparjan, 1 935. (See diagram next page ..) White wins by playing Kt-K8 with the double threat of Kt­ Kt 7 ch followed by a Bishop mate on KB5, or doing precisely the same thi ng the other way round. That's why Black's only sensible answer is I. K Kt3. But now follows a very neat double-manreuvre of two little Pawns, attracting the enemy Rooks like magnets and incidentally dividing them : -

.

2.

3.

P-R 5 ch P-B5 ch

.

•

•

-

R xP RxP

+· 15

P-K4

HIS

M A JE S T Y, H I S O F F I C E R S

AND

MEN

The only thing Black can do is to try an escape by, say, R-K4, but the White Bishop, by sacri fi cing h imself, retrieves the fugitive Rook, and so contrives the e nd: B-B5 c h Kt-Kt7 !!!

5.

6.

RxB

If there is one thing we can learn from this pretty study it is this: that Rooks should work as a team and should beware of being cut off from one another. Here is a famous little game to exemplify the poi nt. The winner is th e great Morphy, and his opponents were the D uke of Bruns­ wick and Count Isouard, p l ayin g in consultation. The game was played in 1 858 in the Duke's box in the Paris Ope ra House during a performan ce of The Barber of Seville: I.

2.

3·

4. 5.

6.

7·

8. 9·

IO.

P-K4 P-Q3 P-Q4 B-Kt5? P xP BxKt PxP QxB B-QB4 Kt -KB3 Q-QKt3 Q-K2 Kt-QB3 P-QB3 B-KKt5 P-QKt4? P-K4

I

K t-KB3

I.

12. 13. 14. 1 5. 1 6.

I 7·

KtxKtP ! BxP ch

P xKt QKt-Q2

Rx Kt! R-QI B x Rch Q-Kt8 ch!! R-Q8

RxR Q-K3 Kt xB KtxQ M ate

0-0-0

R-Qr

Pe rh aps the Duk e and the C ount could plead the extenuating circumstance of b e ing disturbed by Rossini's music. M o r p hy , at any rate , p rovid ed a sp ect a cle truly in the style of Grand Opera. How magnificently Rooks can fight each other is beautifully illustrated in this study by Saavedra (1895), probably one of t h e most instructive stu d i es in Chess literature. (See next p age.) White is to move and win. He pushes the P awn, of course, a nd it seems hopeless for the Rook to stop it. Y e t a Rook can command powerful resources as we s ha l l soon see. Black o bv i o u sly plays

I6

T H E ROO K WAS

C A LL E D

AN E L E P HA N T

I. . . . . R-Q3 ch. To counter this is not at all as easy as it looks. If White were to play 2. K-B5, Black could stop the Pawn by R-Q8. K-Kt7 would be countered by R-Q2. That's why White must play :

2. 3· 4. 5.

K-Kt5 K-K4 K-B 3 K-B2

R-Q 4 ch R-Q5 ch R-Q:€ R-Q5 ! !

Now if White were to queen the Pawn, Black could force the stalemate by R-B 5 ch. One may think then that it is all over, and the game simply a draw. But that is not so. White promotes the Pawn to be a Rook, thereby threatening a mate on the QR file. To stop it, Black must play 6. . . . . R-R5. But now White plays 7. K-Kt3, threatening the Rook as well as mate, and thereby winning at once. But the Rook in spite of his great strength can be powerless indeed. Even the beginner knows that once two passed Pawns have reached the 6 th rank, the strong Rook can never stop one of them from queening Here is a most inst ructive example with an extra Black Pawn and a White Bishop thrown in for good measure. It's a stu d y by Dr. H . Neustadt ( 1 897). Wh i te is to win, and he will ob viously play 1. B-R5, knowing that if the Black Pawn captures the Bishop, White will suddenly have the two united passed Pawns in the classical win­ ning position. So Black obviously tries to get his King to the rescue. .

I.

2.

17

B xP

K-Kt6 K-B5

H I S MAJ E STY, HIS OFFICERS AND MEN

But White is unconcerned, and pushes the RP to its 7th rank. Now, if Black plays R-B6 ch followed by R-KR6, White simply plays B-R5, and after R X B he pushes on the other Pawn and again has the classical winning position. Precisely the same idea is adopted if Black plays : 3.

4.

B-K8 ! !

R-B I RxB

5. P-Kt6, etc.

Here, in a study by Dr. A. Wotava, we can see once more the limitations of a Rook cramped for lehensraum. If only Black had time to get his King up to QB3, thus relieving the Rook of his humiliating sentry duty for a mere Pawn, all would be well, and Black needn't lose. But it is White's move, and he wins most elegantly by gaily sacrificing his own Rook and thereby cramping the style of the enemy Rook even more. If, even after this broad hint, the reader doesn't see the solution in a Rash, he had better look it up_on�p. 1 85.

3 THE BISHOP IS NO FOOL I HA V E often wondered whether it should be deemed a compliment or an insult to the clergy to have that sly, slanting diagonalist of the Chess-board called a Bishop. In German he is called by the less pretentious name, Li:iufer, j ust to show how well he can run. As for the French, they call him somewhat whimsically Fou, perhaps because he is anything but a fool. Yet he certainly must have his weak moments when, as likely as not, he does feel a fool ; he ought to feel frustrated by the rigid colour-bar, to which he is subj ected. Surely, he must resent this all the more, since he alone in the entire realm of the sixty-four squares is thus restricted. No one else on the board, not even the humble Pawn, is barred from the satisfaction of feeling either a black or a white square under his feet, however the Guiding Spirit may move him. It is only the Bishop who is forced to run through life colour­ blind and wearing blinkers, as it were, as he slithers up and down his long diagonals. Think how frustrated so powerful a chap must feel when even against a solitary enemy King he can be of no help at all to push his corner Pawn to promotion, if the goal happens to be the wrong colour. Small wonder that the Bishop, even more than the Rook, likes to team up with his colleague. It is only as a team that they con­ trol both colours, and the pair of Bishops is rightly considered to be more valuable than the simple multiplication of one unit by two might indicate. Indeed, on the entire Chess-board there is hardly a sight more exhilarating (or menacing) than a pair of Bishops squinting down neighbouring diagonals. To prove it here is a famous little game won by the great Akiba Rubinstein against F. Belitzmann at Warsaw, 1917:

H I S MAJ E STY, H I S OFFICE RS AND M E N

P-K+ P-K+ 9· Kt-K3 B-Q3 P-QKt+ Kt-KB3 Kt-QB3 I O. 0-0 I I . B-Kt3 B-Kt2 Kt-B3 3 . Kt-B3 I 2. Kt-K I Q-R5 Kt-Q5 4. B-Kt5 5. B-B+ 1 3. P-Kq Q-R6 B-B+ 6. Kt x P I f . P-QB3 P-KR+ ! Q-K2 P-R5 I 5. P x Kt P-Q+ 7 · Kt-Q3 8. Kt x P Q x P ch and White is helpless against Black's impending Queen sacrifice on R7, supported by the powerful pair of Bishops. Another signi ficant example of the Bishop's power is Capablanca's win against Janowski at New York, 1 916, a game not quite as well remembered as it deserves to be. For it is an almost perfect example, not merely for the strength of the Bishops, but even more so for the harmonious co-ordination of all available material. In this strong position Capablanca (Black) sacrificed his QKtP so as to open the door for his eagerly waiting QB to reach the dominating square K s via QR5 and QB 7. This is how the game proceeded : I. 2.

I. 2. 3.

P xP R-QR 1

P-Kt5 B-R5

If White tries to stop B-B7 by R­ QB I, Black wins by R X KB P ch, followed by B-KKt+ ch. 3·

4. 5. 6.

7.

8.

9·

B-Kt3 K-B2 R-R 7 R xB B x RP K-B 3

B-B7 B-K5 ch P-R+ B x Kt P-R5 R x R ch R x RP

1 0. I I. I 2. I 3. 14..

I 5. 1 6.

B xB K-B2 B-Kt5 ch R-K7 K-B3 R x P ch Resigns

R-R6 ch R-QKt6 K-Kt3 R x P ch R-QRI K-R2

One of innumerable pretty examples of the Bishop's power is provided in this position (not nearly well enough known), 20

T HE

BIS HOP IS

NO FOOL

which the Jugoslav master, V. Vukovicz (White), reached against an amateur in 1 937. Vukovicz made the brilliant (if somewhat obvious) move, Kt-B5. Evidently, if Black takes the Queen he is mated by the Knight, and if he takes the Knight, he is mated by R-Kt4 ch, etc. So he played Q X R. But this was countered by White's spectacular Q-R5, forcing Black's immediate resignation. Ob­ viously the main work in White's pretty little combination was done by the Bishop, who never budged from his post, but j ust stood there dominating his diagonal with deadly effect. Nothing, of course, is more unhealthy for a King than a pair of enemy Bishops menacing him way down their neighbouring diagonals. Here-Schmitt-Rugamer, 1 9 36-is a pretty case in point. After 1. Kt-K7 ch, K-R 1 , White opened up the other Bishop's diagonal by 2. P-K6 !, and Black had nothing better than 2. Kt X P, and after 3. Q X R he duly resigned. To see a Bishop and his opposite number intriguing against each other, each one trying to be the cat and to degrade the other to the role of the mouse, can be most interesting. On the next page, in a famous study by T. V. Ulehla, 1 9 35, the duel of the Bishops is neatly exemplified. White starts with B B7 What shall Black do? If he yields the contested diagonal, White will simply play his Bishop to Q6 and there will be no defence against the Knight mating at B7. Hence, the Black Bishop must contest the diagonal. But, alas! on his Q3, or KB5 or KKt6, he will simply be captured, with mate to follow. He can go to his KR 7 , though, because to -

21

.

HIS

MA JE STY,

H I S OFFI CERS

be

A ND

ME N

captured there would bring about a stalemate. But White plays 2. B-Kt8 ! He lures the enemy with truly 'magnetic' strength, and Black can do nothing better than taking the Bishop, whereupon White plays P-B7, and it is all over. We have seen the Bishop facing many a triumph. Now let us look at him as he faces disaster. I cannot imagine a maj or Chess­ man being more frustrated than a Bishop who even with a Pawn plus and against the naked enemy King cannot help that Pawn to get promoted if it happens to be a corner Pawn whose queening square is of a colour opposite to that of the Bishop. Here is a somewhat elaborated example of the same idea : a Bishop unable to push three united passed Pawns to promotion. A truly drastic and rather instructive example of how the Bishop is affected by the 'colour-bar.' Fortu­ nately, he is the only Chess-man thus handicapped. But let us not conclude contem­ plation of the Bishop on so defeatist a note. Let us think of his usual power rather than of his occasional •• failure and frustration. It must be a rare enough chance for a Bishop to bite his way all through the long diagonal, right up to R8. It happened in this queer game won by Diemer in I 9 4 8 : B-B3 P-Q4 1. P-Q4 7 · B-Kt2 8. Kt-KB3 P-QK4 2. P-QR3 P-QR3 Q-B2 3. Kt-QB3 P-K3 9 . P-K4 ! B xP I O. P-K5 P-QB4 4 · P-K3 Kt x KtP ! Resigns I I. B xp 5. p x BP 6. P-QKt4 B-K2

•

• • •

22

T HE

BIS H OP

IS

N O F OOL

If Black takes the Knight, the White Bishop starts at once on his profitable journey. And here, in a study by Dr. A . Kramer, we can see a solitary Bishop triumphant against the most appalling material odds. White plays his Bishop to KB8, and Black has no other way to stop the mate than R-KKt6. But now the agile Bishop glides to Q6, threatening yet another mate which the enemy, with all his material wealth, can counter in one way only. He must play Kt-B6, thereby blocking the Rook's horizontal file, and allow­ ing the Bishop immediately profit­ able access to QR3, with yet another mating threat; and this time there is no remedy. Here, finally, is one of the most famous brevities in Chess litera­ ture to show the power of a pair of Bishops : I.

2. 3· 4. 5. 6.

P-K4 Kt-KB3 B-Kt5 P-B3 P-Q4 0-0

P-K4 Kt-QB3 KKt-K2 P-Q3 B-Q2 Kt-Kt3

7·

8.

9·

I O. I I.

1 2.

Kt-Kt5 Kt x P B-B4 ch Q-R5 Q-Kt5 ch B x P Mate

P-KR3? K x Kt K-K2 Q-K 1 P xQ

This game was played at Breslau in 1 865, and the loser was none other than the great Anderssen, who was obviously not in the form in which he played his 'immortal' game (see p. 45). He had the consolation, though, of being beaten by his peer : for the winner of the little game was a young man named Zuckertort, who was soon to reach supremacy among the great contemporary masters and gloriously to hold it until another young man by the name of Steinitz appeared on the Chess horizon.

23

+ KN IGHTS ARE STILL BOLD

P-Q4 P-K4 P-Q5 B-QKt5 ch P x KP P x P ch P x Kt (Kt) ch Strictly speaking, this uniqu� feat of reaching the very base of the enemy camp with seven-league-boo ts should be credited to the humble Pawn rather than to the capricious Knight, whose uni­ form that particularly adventurous Pawn chose to adopt (and for very good reasons too !). The Knight is certainly the most capricious of all Chess-men. It is not for nothing that the Germans call him the 'Jumper,' which, with his queer capers all over the board, he certainly is. The French call him cavalier, and a gay cavalier no doubt he really is, proud of the fact that he alone in the entire realm can do things that not even the Queen and in fact nobody else can emulate. Perhaps it is this that makes him an outsider on the board, a sort of lone wolf, who likes to hunt alone. Yet he is by no means lacking in team-spirit, 24

KN I G HT S

ARE

S T ILL BOLD

and when the occasion demands it, even this great individualist will consent to team up with his fellows. Just think of the smothered mate (see p. 24), and how har­ moniously, even on less spectacular occasions, the Knight's queer capers blend with everybody else's movements. What a powerful chap the Knight can be, and how helpless even his own colleagues in the enemy camp will be to thwart him, can be seen from this little study by P. Heuacker. Simple, but most instructive for the power of two Knights, har­ moniously co-operating. White to move and win. The reader should try and puzzle this out himse1£ Should he get tired of it, he can still turn to the solution on p. I 85. A beautiful example for the magnificent j umping power of a solitary Knight is presented in this famous study by A. L. Kubbel, significantly nicknamed 'The Tiger's Leap'. It seems almost incredible, yet it is a fact that in no more than five moves this agile Knight is going, or rather j umping, to catch the remote Queen either on a black or on a white square. Yet it is not as difficult as it seems. And I trust that not many readers will have to look up the solution on p. I 8 5. It is far more likely that they will be stumped by E. Zepler's study on the next page. Here, too, White is to win. But since it is by no means easy, I will give a little hint to the reader who doesn't want 1.0 look up the solution. Even a superficial look will reveal that White could threaten immediate mate but for the nuisance of one of his own Pawns. How now does his clever Knight force Black to remove the impediment? If I were to say c

25

HI S

MA JE S T Y,

HI S

OF F IC E R S

A ND

ME N

more, I might as well give the complete solution here instead of on p. 1 8 5. Actually White is to mate in six moves. If we are looking for examples of a Knight's particular prowess in an actual game, I could think of few more signi ficant than this position: It occurred in a game Barcza­ Bronstein, :Moscow, 1 949. White's attempt to ease his position by Q­ K4 was countered by a brilliant stroke-or rather, a series of strokes-on the part of the Black Knight. Bronstein played I. Kt X QP. White played Q X Q, whereupon Black rather than retake the Queen at once (which would have merely gained him a Pawn), played 2. Kt x Kt, followed by 3. K-B 1 , Kt-B7 ch, 4. B-B 1 . This is a clever idea. White wants to lure the Black Rook into troubled waters, but again the crafty Knight queers his pitch. .

+· 5.

.

.

.

K-K2

R x B ch Kt-QS ch !

6.

K-Q2

Kt-Kt6 ! !

Whereupon the Hungarian master duly resigned. Chess-players often ask themselves whether a Knight is more valuable than a Bishop or vice versa. The answer, of course, is that it all depends upon the position. Leaving aside all positional considerations and strictly according to their ordinary 'market price', we all know that a Knight and a Bishop are of about the same value. Haven't we often enough swapped one for the other?

KNIGHTS

A RE

STILL BOLD

But, as I said, it all depend s on the position. If our Kn i gh t can be given greater mobility than the Bishop in the enemy camp, the chances are that the Knight will triumph. Here-Keres-Naj dorf, Margate, 1 9 3 9 is a case in point. If the Black KKtP were posted on either QB2 or QB 4, the game would be inevitably drawn, since the White Knight would not have an earthly chance of breaking through. But as it is, he has. There followed: -

1. 2.

3.

4.

P-B5 ! ! Kt-B4 P-Kt6 P-Kt 7

KtP x P K-K2 K-Q2

and Black res i gned, as neither B-B2 nor K-B2 would prevail against 5. Kt x RP. If on the first move Black had taken with the QP, White would have won even more easily by P-Q6, followed by K-B 4, etc. When in the summer of 1 949 my column in the New Statesman ran a piece on the 'Knight-errant unerring', many readers sent in further illustrations to show the uncanny prowess of the Knight. Among them was E. Allan, who sent in this pretty position won by him (Black) in a club match. His opponent played Q-Kt2 (obviously the only move), whereupon Allan's Knight sprang to surprisingly sudden activity .

I. 2.

3.

Q xQ Q xB

R-B 7 B-B6 ch Kt x Q

and White could avoid mate only at prohibitive material cost. 27

HI S

M A J E S TY,

HI S

OFFIC E R S

AND M E N

Here, finally, to show the amaz­ ing power of the Knight, is an amusing position, concocted by Dr. 0. T. Blathy. Whi te' s solitary Knight faces the entire complement of Black's pieces and Pawns; but he triumphs even against such fantastic odds, a single cavalryman pitched against an entire army. I t's a mate in twelve, and it is by no means as difficult as it may seem. (Solution on p. 185.)

5 NOT SO HUMBLE PAWNS To be a 'mere Pawn in the game' has become a metaphor practically indispensable to those burdened with the duty (or the urge) to write leading articles on the complexities of modern Power Politics. But in our realm of the sixty-four squares, where the Pawn is a solid reality rather than a nebulous metaphor, it would be very wrong to adopt such cavalier attitude towards those humble soldiers. They do not deserve it, and they are, in fact, not so humble at all. True, they are ready to die for their King at a moment's notice. But so are all the officers, even the Queen herself. True, their casualties are often considerable, but so are their numbers. What matter if seven of those loyal henchmen lay down their lives for one of them to come through all those appalling hazards and to achieve the glorious transfiguration waiting for him at his j ourney's end ? If ever he reaches it, he will forthwith be turned into a Queen; unless of course the guiding spirits decree that a Rook, or a Bishop, or a Knight would suit their purposes better. If that were decreed, he will instantly give up whatever dreams of Queenship he may have had, and henceforth he will be as good a Rook or Bishop or Knight as the best of them. Only one thing he cannot be : he cannot remain a Pawn. I t has sometimes been argued that a Pawn may b e but need not b e promoted once he reaches his 8 th square, and the adherents of this theory have composed positions in which it would be actually more beneficial to keep the 'arrived' Pawn in his original capacity rather than promote him to officer's rank. But, of course, the rules of the game make it quite clear that the Pawn must be promoted. If it were otherwise it would indeed be an outrage against the very meaning of the game.

HI S

M A J E S T Y,

HIS

OF FICE R S

A ND

ME N

If ever the Greek philosopher's 'ITCcvTO: pet (all is in flux) is truly applicable, it is in Chess. To have a stagnant Pawn on an 8th square, unable to move either forward or backward, occupying space and yet being no more than a piece of dead wood-this would be an affront to the very spirit of Chess. We have many casualties in our realm of the sixty-four squares, but whoever dies, is instantly removed. Those who remain must be alive and moving all the time (or, at any rate, able to move). In fact, when no more move­ ment is possible, the game is finished at once-stalemate. But let us look at the Pawns in earlier life when they slowly move into battle, either to open up the game (which inevitably means casualties in their ranks) or to close it up, if this is what the Guiding Spirits decree. I like the way they plod forward, step by step, snapping out to the left or right like vicious little dogs. I like their fine team­ spirit. How proud these two or three little Pawns must feel, when controlling the centre and thus keeping their betters in the enemy camp very much in awe. Even so, they are inevitably slow and patient plodders, and it should be a rare enough event for a Pawn quite early in the game to run along and decide the issue single-handed. A case in point is quoted in Lasker's Chess Magazine, I 908 : I.

2.

3.

P-Q4 P-Q4 P-QB4 P-K 3 Kt-QB3 P-QB4

4. 5. 6.

B-B4 B x Kt? B-K5

BP x P P x Kt ! P x KtP

He's done it ! The threat of B-Kt5 ch will cost White at least his QR. Something very similar happened in the game Schlechter-Perlis, Carlsbad, 1 9 1 1 : I.

2.

3. 4.

P-Q4 Kt-K B3 P-QB4 Q-Kt3

P-Q4 B-B4 P-QB3 Q-Kt3

5. 6. 7·

P x QP P xQ P x BP !

Q xQ B x Kt?

Here Dr. Perlis saw the danger sign, and by playing Kt X BP got away with only the loss of a Pawn. Had he played the more 30

N OT

SO

HUMBLE

PAW NS

obvious B-K5, Schlechter would have instantly floored him with 8. R x P, followed by P-B7. And here, to prove the not infrequent case of dupl ication, a game won by Prof. B runing in the U.S. A. in 1 90 7 : 1. 2. 3. 4.

P-Q4 P-QB+ B-B4 Kt-QB 3

P-Q4 P-K3 P-QB4 BP x P

5. 6. 7.

B x Kt B-K5 Resigns

P x Kt P x KtP

In the early stage of the game it is, of course, a generally accepted ruling-and a very wise one too !-that one should be wary of pushing one's Pawns, particularly so long as one hasn't fully developed one's pieces. Yet, in his game against Ragosin at New York, 1 940, the indomitable Marshall was so recklessly busy pushing his Pawns that, up to his I 5th move, he did not develop a single piece. Once he did start to move them he soon won the game. Here it is : 1 4. P-R5 P-QB4 I. P-K4 B-Kt5 ch 1 5. B-Q2 B x B ch 2. P-QKt4 P x P 1 6. Kt x B Kt-K2 3. P-QR3 Kt-QB3 Kt-K B3 I 7· Kt-K4 4· P x P Kt-B4 I 8. Kt-Q5 P-R6 P-Kt3 5. P-Kt5 1 9. Kt-B6 ch K-B 1 6. P-QB3 Kt-K3 Kt-Q4 20. Kt-KB3 P-Q3 7 · P-K5 2 1 . Kt-Kt5 8. P-QB4 Kt (4)-B5 P xP Kt-Kt3 22. P x P Q x Q ch 9· P-Kt3 Kt x BP K-K2 23. R x Q IO. P-K B4 I I. Kt x P 24. R-R3 P-Kt3 P x Kt Kt-Kt3 R-QKu 1 2. P-Q4 25. B-Kt2 26. Kt (5) x RP Resigns 1 3. P-KR4 P-K3 Considering that ten of Black's first twelve moves were devoted to shifting one or the other of his Knights, he too broke a golden rule, though less successfully than his opponent-the rule : Avoid moving a piece twice before having developed the others. The great thing about the Pawns is that they are equally hard­ worked in the opening, in the middle-game and in the end-game. 31

HI S

M A J E S TY,

H IS

O FFI C E R S

AND

MEN

But it is, of course, in the end-game that they are up against their

greatest difficulties and up to their most clever tricks and most amaz­ ing exploits, either to reach their journey's end, or to die in the attempt. To see a solitary Pawn break through a seemingly solid phalanx of the enemy-a feat invariably achieved only at the expense of a good many fellow Pawns--is one of the most exhilarating sights on the Chess-board. In this position-reported by the late R. Spielmann-Black is no less than three passed Pawns to the good. Yet it is White who (on the move) manages to break through. It isn't too difficult, and the reader should not need to con- * . lj lj �:� i IJ fj suit the solution on p. 185. ��� i a1 Here, finally, is a famous old � � a1 position----so old, in fact, that the • i � 'l � 8 . -� . author is j ust as unknown as the i• n authors of most folk-songs. • ·· ···"g-��� � White is to win. Actually it's mate i!m -� in precisely eighteen moves ; and the • a � method it is as amusing ••• a m . . of . achieving . '"" · � �'=="" a '""' " � =""'� �""' . � � � "� as it is 1nstruct1ve. (S o1 ut1on on p. I 85.) .

-

.

32

·

6 HIS MAJESTY STEPS OUT ' HAVE you ever seen a dream walking?' was, if my memory serves me, the title of a famous old song. Few have seen such a sight. But no less rare a sight in the realm of our sixty-four squares is the spectacle of His Majesty stepping out for a really long walk. He prefers the peace and quiet of a sheltered corner to the turmoil of the battle waged further afield by his own loyal men. Not at all used to strenuous exercise and indeed unable to do more than one gingerly step at a time, the King seeks safety rather than adventure. I said that he steps out in a gingerly fashion, and indeed he must. After all, it is not only that his august person must not be exposed to any danger which indeed must be treated as a top priority to be removed forthwith ; he must not even rub shoulders with an enemy. He must be kept severely aloof from any of them, big or small. In such circumstances, to venture out into the crowds would indeed seem most inadvisable, and His Majesty generally avoids it unless it be a case offorce majeure. In such case it is as often as not a very dispirited King ; in that case as often as not it is not a mon­ arch stepping out (however carefully and gingerly) ; it is rather one who cannot help himself, a King driven from pillar to post, and if his steps must needs be short and halting, so much the worse. To see a King coming out into the open on so melancholy a promenade, is by no means infrequent. But it will generally be his very last walk. Yet, on very rare occasions, it may be possible to see His Majesty gaily stepping into the fray to help his own valiant troops. A King will always come out into the open, if there is not much more left than a Pawn to be supported or one of the enemy to be stopped. But to come out in the early middle-game, walking right across a board, bristling with enemies, this is a rare enough event. 33

HI S

MAJE S T Y,

HI S

O F FI C E R S

A ND

ME N

Once upon a time-in Calcutta in 1 8 86, to be precise-a Chess­ player, fittingly named Steel, provided such a rare spectacle. Having ventured upon the Steinitz GambitI. 2. 3. +· 5.

P-K+ Kt-QB3 P-B+ P-Q+ K-K2

P-K+ Kt-QB3 P xP Q-R5 ch

he had got himself into this position. Having j ust been checked by a Black Rook, the White King cheer­ fully set out on this amazing adventure : I 2. 1 3.

K-Q3 K-B+

B-B+ ch B-K3 ch

1 4.

K xB

(threatening mate in 2 with Kt-K5, etc.) 1 5. Kt x BP Q-R+ ch 1 6. Kt-K5 Kt-Q2 Ch (If he takes the Queen, Kt-B6 ch, and the Bishops rush to the attack.) 1 7 . K-Kt5 Q xQ (Now the Black the Knight.) 1 8. B x P 1 9. K-R6 20. Kt x R ! 2 1 . P x Kt 22. B-K3

King hopes to take the KtP when challenged by Q xR Kt x Kt P-B3 P-B+ R x Kt

B-QKt5 B-R7 ch B-B5 K-R7 !

Q xR K-B2 R-Q 1 Resigns

Such daring does not always pay, and it would not normally be advisable to expose the King to such appalling hazards. Yet here is another case in point : a King breaking out of the mating net that was being prepared for him and marching boldly forward to support a decisive attack on the rival monarch. It hap­ pened in a game Bernardi-Drescher, Frankfurt-a.-M., 1 9 49. 3+

HIS

. MAJ ESTY S TEPS

OU T

If in this position White had simply played R ( 1 )-Q7 he would have been quite safe. But his ambition was to utilize the KKt file to higher purpose, so he rashly played I . K-R I , allowing the Black Queen to take the King's Bishop's Pawn. There followed : 2. R-Ku ch K-R+ 3. Kt-Kt3 ch K-R5 and it was only now that White recognized that his original idea was, alas, not flawless. He had meant to continue with a Knight check on B5, and in case of the enemy King advancing to R6, he had planned a Rook check on Kt3. But seeing (too late !) that in this case the enemy Queen could blithely sacri fice herself for the Rook, White dropped the plan and played + · R-K B 1 . But by now, of course, he is hopelessly lost. Black played + · R-R8 !, and after 5. R x R the bold Black King went on to his R6, forcing immediate resignation. In a game played at Glasgow, 1 902, against some consulting amateurs, Richard Teichmann had one of these rare opportunities for sending his King right into the fray. Teichmann (White) had reached this position, and the game continued: 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35.

K-R2 K-Kt3 K-R+ R-K3 R-Kt3 P xP R-Kt+ K-R5

P-QKt4 P-QR+ P-Kt3 Q x KtP Q-B7 Q-B5 Q-B 7 ch Resigns

This pretty old game was dug out by one of the N. St. and N. competitors, Jasper Ridley, while another reader-none other than 35

H I S M AJ E S T Y, H IS OFFI C E RS A N D ME N

Gerald Abrahams, Midlands Chess Champion-sent in this amusing little game, played by him against the late E. Spencer. The game incidentally was played blind, while the contestants were going for a walk. So did the White King : I. P-Q+ Kt-KB3 I I. P-KKt+ P-KR+ 1 2. K x Kt B xP 2. P-QB+ Kt-QB3 1 3. B-Kt5 ch K-Q2 Kt-K+ 3. P-Q5 Kt-Kt3 1 4. B-R3 Q-B+ ch +· P -.,.K+ 1 5. K-K3 Q x B ch 5. P-K B4 Kt x KP 1 6. K-B2 Q-B4 ch 6. P-KB5 P-K+ 7 . P x Kt Q-R5 ch 1 7 . K-Kt2 Q-K5 ch 8. K-K2 Q-B 7 ch 1 8. K-B 2 Q-B5 ch 1 9 . K-Kt2 D raw P-Q3 9. K-Q3 1 0. P x P ch K-Q 1 Generally speaking, it may well be said that in nine cases out of ten when His Maj esty takes a really long walk it is not exactly a voluntary peregrination. Here-C. H. O' D. Alexander-Keres, Hastings I 9 37-is a position where the Black monarch might have 'walked the plank' if White had dared to jeopardize his QR by : I.

2. 3· +· 5. 6. 7· 8.

R-'-R I ! Q-R4 Q x Kt ch Kt-B4 B-;-- R 6 K-Kt3 Q x B ch Q-Kt5! , etc.

QxR B-Kt2 K-B 1 Q-R7 Q x B ch BxB K-K I

In point of fact, White played R-R2, and the game became a (very exciting) draw ; even so a most creditable achievment for the young British master who went on to share Second and Third Prizes, ahead of grandmasters such as F ine and Flohr. It is in the final stage of the end-game, of course, that the King really comes into his own as a fighter in his own right, rather than I.

36

/·

H I S MAJ E S T Y S T E PS OUT

as the mollycoddled symbol wrapped i n cotton-wool and anxiously protected from a mere breath of danger. Since even a 'one-step' walk along a diagonal certainly covers more groµnd than plodding slowly up and down a straight, the Ki n g may sometimes seem to be much faster than he really is. Here is a very famous and most instructive little study, generally attributed to the late Richard Reti, who I think first published it (but it is, in fact, much older). Obviously, it would be quite hopeless for the White King to try to catch the runaway Black Pawn, and since his own passed Pawn is within reach of the Black Ki ng, White seems hopelessly lost. Yet, by shrewdly combining attack and defence, White still can secure the draw : I.

K-Kt7

P-R5

2.

K-B6

Now, if Black were simply to push on his Pawn, the White King would be j ust in time to support his own passed Pawn. So Black must play : 2.

K-Kt3

3.

K-K5

K xP

Again, if Black were to push on his own advanced Pawn, White would still be in time to support his even further advanced Pawn. Having thus forced Black to 'waste' two tempi on meeting a threat, White, by 4. K B 4 , etc., can j ust catch the runaway Pawn. Here, finally, is an amusing study by C. S. Kipping. It shows the most assiduous King I ever saw. It is White's move, and to mate the enemy will take him at least fifty moves, mostly plodding footwork on the part of this indefatigable monarch. While the Black King 37 -

HIS

M A J E S T Y,

HIS

OFFI C E R S

AND

MEN

can do nothing but persevere in his dreary sentry duty of marching back and forth between R2 and Ku , the White King will first pick up the enemy Queen's Rook's Pawn and then, after a long march more than halfway round the realm, he will capture the Pawn on Black's KB6. Then he will boldly march to face the enemy King, and by stalemating him force Black to play P-KB6 ; then, hastily letting Black out of the stalemate grip, the White King will march to collect the surviving King's Bishop's Pawn. Now the deck is cleared for the final assault, and after P-KB4 the newly-created passed Pawn queens and mates at QR8.

Part II SPIRIT AND MATTER

I

BITI'ER END FOR SNATCH WE have now had a glimpse at the sixty-four squares that make up our realm and at the six types-God, Officers and Men-that populate it. We have seen how they roam around those sixty-four squares, marching, lurking, running, j umping, slithering or racing, j ust according to their characters or their changing moods. We have, in other words, taken stock of the material entrusted to us, the capital investment as it were, which we are endowed with to start every new venture on the sixty-four squares. There it is, always precisely the same sum, no more and no less than our opponent has to play with. It's our starting capital, and it's entirely for us to hoard it or to waste it, to invest it prudently or daringly, or to risk it with equal daring for a chance of great profit or to squander it recklessly with nothing to show for it in the end but dismal failure. It's our perennial patrimony, and what we make of it is entirely up to us. So let us, first of all, tot up what we have got. Calling the Pawn one 'unit'-and since we have got eight of them-that makes eight to begin with. And since we have been told that Knights and Bishops are each worth about three Pawns, and being endowed with two of each, we can add twelve, which brings our starting capital up to twenty. Assessing the Rooks at four each, that makes it twenty-eight. The King, of course, is absolutely priceless, and as for the Queen, we might as well assess her at eight units. Which would give us a total starting capital of thirty-six. But it is certainly not as simple as all that. True, j ust as in life it is considered useful to know the value of money, j ust so in Chess we must not be wasteful and we must have a healthy regard for the value of a single little Pawn, one measly little unit in our starting capital of thirty-six. Up to a point it may be quite useful to look at our venture in the way our bank manager and our chartered D

4I

S P I R IT A ND

MA T T E R

accountant might like us to look at it. Yet, if these soberly calcu­ lating gentlemen happen to be Chess-players too, they would soon tell us that in our realm of the sixty-four squares and among the queer symbols populating it, a strictly materialist attitude will never do. We have to consider position no less than material. It will do us no good merely to hoard our legacy and parsimoniously to guard every one of our thirty-six units. Of course, your bank manager might well tell you that in life too you have to invest something, and that you have to take certain risks, putting something in if you wish to take something out. Yet, while in life, by being miserly, you merely rob yourself of a lot of fun, in Chess it will probably cost you the game. In Chess you can't afford to be merely passive and careful. Certainly, you have got to be careful all the time, but with every move you make, you have got to think of your position no less than of your material. But then, haven't we got to do that in life too, if we have any sense at all? In Chess j ust as in life we can sacri fice material to improve our position and then 'cash in' by recovering our expenses with compound interest. Or, again, we may squander our resources in chasing a will-o'-the-wisp. In that case our opponent will prob­ ably choose a different interpretation. He will say that, having taken quite legitimate risks, he has successfully weathered the storm and emerged from the crisis all the stronger. It is easy to say that, and anyone with a taste for symbolizing can well indulge it by contemplating a game of Chess. No game indeed would lend itself so readily to symbolizing the struggle of life. But what delights me most in Chess is precisely the point where the symbolism ends-the very fact that, whereas in life we are not often given a second chance, in Chess we can get as many as we care to take. Whenever we find our position intolerable, we can resign with good grace and start all over again with a perfectly clean slate and with the exciting prospect of testing the additional • experience gained from past mistakes. Yet, if you do care for symbolizing you may certainly find in Chess a complete philosophy of Time and Space. You may also call it the balance between Spirit and Matter or, translated into 42

BI T T E R

E ND

FOR

SNATCH

Chess parlance, between Position and Material. Indeed, to keep that balance between Position and Material--or, rather, to aim at tipping it in one's favour-is one of the basic ideas of the game, and certainly the very essence of every gambit. Take the opening moves of the ' Danish Gambit' : I.

2.

P-K4 P-Q4

3·

P-K 4 P xP

P-QB3

Here the books will tell you that with the late Dr. Lasker's excellent move, 3. . . . . P-Q4, Black can get the better of it, refuting White's gambit. Try this out yourself, but j ust now imagine that the black pieces are not handled by a disciple of Lasker's but by Mr. Snatch, who will gleefully grab Mr. Dash's Queen's Bishop's Pawn. Indeed, after the latter's 4. KB-B4, Snatch will pocket the Knight's Pawn too. Now look at the position after White's 5. B X KtP. No book can tell you if this is a clear­ cut win for either side. As a matter of fact, it isn't, but one thing is certain. White, for the sacri fice of two Pawns, has gained considerable positional advantage. To avoid catastrophe, Black will soon have to trade back material for position; to equalize he may well have to return all his gains. This position was the subj ect of the first of many New Statesman competitions, the assumption being that Mr. Snatch would have neither the wisdom nor the courage to desist from his What1-have-l-hold policy. Since j ustice on the Chess-board is meted out inexorably, competitors were invited to be its stern executor and to devise Snatch's speedy punishment, by continuing an imaginary game from Dash's 5th move to Snatch's bitter end. Snatch's moves were to be 'in character', yet, while obviously avoiding such sensible counter-sacri ficial moves as P-Q4, he was not to make any ludicrously bad moves. I gave this little 'sample' of how the game might run : Dash

5. 6. 7·

Snatch

Dash

Kt-KB3 Kt-K B3 Kt x KP B x P ch K x B

8. 9. 43

Snatch

Q-Q5 ch K-K 1 0-0 !

S PIRIT A N D

M A TTE R

To take the Knight would give Black the chance to exchange Queens, so White, consistently, must sacrifice a piece on top of his Pawns. Kt-Q3

9·

Kt-B+ would lose after Q-R5 ch. I O. I I.

R-K I ch B-K2 B x KtP R-B I

I 2.

Kt-QB3 !

Dash develops rather than snatch the exchange. 1 2. 1 3.

Q-R5 ch

Kt-QB3 ....

and, whether Black interposes the Rook or the Knight, White's next move, Kt-Q5, will threaten inescapable mate on B6. There were dozens of entries, some quite ingenious, and at least one competitor certainly complied with the request to improve on the original 'sample'. It was H. Ainsworth who won the first prize for this brilliant little entry : I. 2. 3. +·

5.

6. 7· 8. 9· I O.

P-K+ P-Q+ P-QB3 B-QB+ QB x P Kt-KB3 R-Ku B x P ch R xP B xB

P-K+ P xP P xP P xP Q-K4 Q xP Q-R6 K-Q I B xR P-Q3

I I. 1 2. 1 3. I f. 1 5. I 6. 1 7. I 8. I 9.

P-K5 Kt-Kt5 Kt-K6 ch Q-B3 B-B8 ch Q-R3 ch Kt-B3 ch Q-Kt3 ch 0-0-0

Q-Q2 P xP K-K2 K-Q3 Kt-K2 K-Q+ K-B5 K-Q6 Mate

There are innumerable illustrations of the balance between Position and Material. Chess literature abounds with pretty examples of wisely bartering (and re-bartering) the one for the other, and every Chess-player, however humble, will have to apply the practical test of such bartering in almost every game he plays. Yet, when looking for the classical example we are inevitably ++

B ITT E R

E ND

FO R

S NATCH

reminded of the ' Immortal Game'. It is j ust a hundred years now since Anderssen played it-in London in 1 8 5 1 -and, no doubt, some equally brilliant (and less unsound) games have since been played. Yet by common consent that celebrated game still deserves its proud name. Most Chess-players have seen it at some time or other, but since few would remember it or know where to put their hands on it, here it is : .Anderssen P-K4 2. P-KB+ I.

Kieseritzky P-K+ P xP

3. +·

.Anderssen B-B+ K-B 1

Kieseritzky Q-R5 ch P-QKt4

A counter-gambit favoured by Kieseritsky. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

I O.

II.

B x KtP Kt-KB3 P-Q3 Kt-R4 ! Kt-B5 P-KK4 R-Kt 1 !

Kt-KB3 Q-R3 Kt-R4 Q-Kt4 P-QB3 Kt-KB3 P xB

1 2. P-KR+ 1 3. P-R5 1 4 . Q-B3

1 5. 1 6. 1 7.

B xP Kt-B3 Kt-Q5

Q-Kt3 Q-Kt4 Kt-Ku (forced) Q-B3 B-B+

P-Q+ would be still more effective, though less elegant. 1 7. 18

.

B-Q6 ! !

Q x KtP Q x R ch

1 9.

K-K2

B xR

Too greedy ! Q-Kt 7 might have provided stiffer resistance. 20. 21. 22. 23.

P-K5 Kt x KtP ch Q-B6 ch ! B-K 7

Kt-QR3 K-Q 1 Kt x Q Mate

This is by no means the only example of sacrificial beauty left to us by the great Anderssen (who was the first Chess-player to be universally credited with the title World Champion). In this position 45

S PIRIT A N D MATTER

(playing White against Zuckertort) h e announced a mate i n five like this : 1. 2. 3.

Q x RP ch P-B6 ch B-R 7 ch

4. 5.

K xQ K-Ku K xB

R-R3 ch R-R8

K-Ku Mate

Let us look at a few more examples of how 'recklessly' one can throw about most precious material so long as one gets sufficient positional value for one's expenditure. The 'recklessness' had better be premeditated. Expenses-totted up in sober units-may well amount to half our fortune or more ; in that case, the positional value bought will generally have to be nothing less than the decisive death-blow for the enemy King. ;. Here are a few examples . In this position-Morony-Fletcher, London, 1 939-White sacri fices all his bits and pieces, remain­ ing with the solitary Queen to administer the coup de grace to the enemy King : I.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7· 8.

R-Q7 ! R x KtP ch B-R6 ch Kt-Kt6 ch ! P xP K-R4 B-Kt 7 ch Q-R 7

Q xR K xR K-R 1 P x Kt Q-B8 ch Q-B6 K xB Mate

On p. 4 7 -Popp-Bauer, Villingen, 1 940-is an even more drastic example of Spirit triumphing over Matter: 1. 2. 3.

Kt-K 5 B-QB4 ! P-KB5 !

Q-K3 P xB Q x Kt

4. 5.

Kt-Kt6 ch P x Kt BP x P !

Again a 'quiet move' in the midst of all this sacrificial turmoil and thunder.

BITTER

5. 6. 7· 8.

9· I O.

R-R 1 ch Q x QBP ch ! R-R8 ch ! Q-R4 ch Q�R 7

END

FOR

S NATCH

Q x KtP K-Ku Q-Q4 K xR K-Kt1 Mate

Poor King ! So rich materially and yet hopelessly doomed. We can only hope that before the death-blow struck him he derived some miserly if melancholy pleasure from the fact that he was two Rooks and two pieces 'up' . Yet that staggering capital of fourteen units in the bank profited him as little as any rich man who, on his deathbed, has no other satisfaction than counting out his money. I could fill hundreds of pages exemplifying the ever-thrilling victory of Spirit over Matter (and inevitably in other sections of this book the same idea will crop up again and again, for it is, of course, nothing less than one of the basic ideas of Chess), but here I want to conclude with what is perhaps the most drastic example of all. It happened in a 'skittle' played by that friendly old master, Richard Teichmann, who, as he happened to come in third in a good many tournaments (he wasn't really ambitious enough to crave higher honours), used to be called 'Richard I I I'. (He was more amiable than that unscrupulous monarch, though.) In this position he played R X RP, forcing Black to answer Kt x R. Then, after White's Q-Kt5, Black had nothing better than retreating the Knight to B2, whereupon Teichmann sacrificed his Queen on Q8 and then simply pushed his King's Rook's Pawn. He has denuded himself of many pieces. The enemy, provided 47

S PIRIT

A ND

MATTER

he still cares to tot up his 'units', will find himself i n possession of much of his original capital, and yet he is quite helpless against the onslaught of the humble but victorious enemy Pawn, for whose greater glory so many far more precious and powerful 'units' had to sacrifice their lives.

2

POLYGAMY IT seems very fitting for the Oriental descent and the fanciful splendour of our game that a King on the Chess-board should not be restricted by so bourgeois a consideration as the principle of monogamy. Yet again, it is equally appropriate for the soberly cal­ culating mind that governs final decisions on the Chess-board to see to it that even the most opulent Rights of fancy be kept within some reasonable and tractable bounds. No Chess-King can possibly have more than nine spouses, but I doubt that anyone, in a practical game, has ever come anywhere near that technical limit of queenly abundance. So gigantic an agglomeration of power within the confines of a mere sixty-four squares would indeed be too awesome a spectacle even to con­ template, let alone analyse with all its positional and material implications. On a more modest scale, though, a certain multi- , plicity of Queens is not quite as rare an event as may be imagined. Here is a position that occurred in a game Rovner-Guldin, Mos­ cow, 1 939. Black had j ust queened his King's Pawn, knowing that Q x Q was ruled out on account of his other Queen's threat of a check at B4, followed by a mate at Kt5. But he hadn't bargained for quite a different saving grace found by White : K-K4 K xQ 1. Q-KKt8 ch 4. Q-R7 ch K-R2 5. Q-R6 ch K x Q 2. Q-K8 ch K-R3 3. Q-Kt8 ch

with a forced stalemate. 49

SPIRIT

A ND

MATTER

The additional velocity and fero­ city infused in the game by a mul­ tiplicity of Queens is no less well illustrated in this instructive posi­ tion, reported by Kurt Richter in his excellent book, Kurzgeschichten um Schachfiguren. Black had j ust permitted the White Queen's Rook Pawn's promotion, confident that by Q-K 7 he could threaten in­ escapable mate. But he was to be disappointed ; for White neatly turned the tables by sacrificing his new Queen at KR8 and then checking with the 'old' Queen at QB8 and KB5 successively, with mate to follow. The adj oining position occurred in one of the match-games between Alekhine and Capablanca. Alek­ hine (Black) was the first to get the new Queen, and thereby got his chance for a mate in three, which is as neat as it is obvious. A rather more complex case of 'multiplicity' occurred in a simultaneous exhibition given by Alekhine at Lisbon in I 94-0. Here, however, the master 'got away' by sheer luck. Having reached this position, he indulged in a little gamble by playing B-B6. Black could have won easily by simply playing K-Q5. But he took the Bishop with his Queen, where­ upon the Champion seized his chance of swapping one pair of Queens, then getting another one with a check, and with an easy draw to follow.

B -� -

50

P OLY G A MY

Alekhine was, indeed, quite a specialist for multiple Queens. Here is the famous position he achieved in a game against Grigoriev at Moscow, 1 9 1 5, with altogether five ladies on the . board. Alek­ hine (White) won the game by the 'quiet' move R-R 6. With Q-Q 8 mate now being threatened, Black countered by Q X B ; where­ upon the future World Champion proceeded to annihilate his oppo­ nent by I . Q-Q K t4 ch, Q K t4 ; 2. Q-Q 8 ch, K-R3 ; 3· Q ( 3)-Q R3 ch. -

51

3 THE ELEMENT OF TIME I N Chess, j ust as in life-here we go, symbolizing again-to-day's bliss may be to-morrow's poison. In life, j ust as in Chess, the cravings of our youth may be anathema at a later stage of the game. Think of the element of Time in Chess : how precious is the tempo, how urgent and desirable the right to move all through the developing stage of the game, or even much later, particularly in the course of a sacrificial attack. How often do we face catastrophe for the lack of one single temp o. How easily we could snatch triumph from disaster if only we were allowed one little extra move. Yet, at a later stage of the game, the blessing of the temp o may well turn into a burden, and the right to move may become a painful duty. Take as simple a position as this : • � � By playing R-K 4 , White forces the enemy � K ing to the one sq uare where he is m�te� forth­ "r , . If only the King could say : 'J'y suis,; ' reste. � &I. with. y Jg Jg I will not b � dge. I stay put � nless chec�e�', he would be quite safe. Even with so prod1g1ous a � m-m preponderance as a Rook against the naked King, you could never win by mere checking. The coup de grdce (immediately prior to the mate) will be a non-checking move devised so that the poor fish will, of his own accord, j ump into the net held out to catch him. For move he must, so long as there is life in him-move he must, even unto death. This onus of the move is a most important aspect of end-game technique, and Chess-players all over the world know it by the German term, zugzwang. Here-Alekhine-Yates, Hamburg, I 9 I o-is a pretty example of the zugzwang lash in action. White, though a Pawn up, obviously cannot win, unless he can force an exchange of Rooks : 52

lj�.

.

T H .E .E L E M E N T O F T I M E

I.

2. 3.

R-K6 R-K5 P xR

K-Q2 R xR

Now, if Black were to play K-K3, White would win quite easily by K-Q4, forcin g the Black Kin g to ret reat (zugzwang!), and his own King pushi ng on to Q 5 . That is why Yates playe� : K-K2 !

3.

A good move : for if now White were rash enough to play the obvious K-Q4, he would throw away the win by giving Black the chance of K-K3, secu ri ng at l eas t a draw. Work out for yo ursel f ho w, by gobbling up Black's Queen-side Pawns, White would promote his own Queen's Knight's Pawn only j ust ahead of Black's Ki ng' s Bishop' s Pawn. If, however, instead of 5. K-B5, White were to play P-K4, Black would push his Bi sh op' s Pawn to the 5 th and actually win. For by now White would be s uffe rin g from zugzwang rather than i n fl i cting it (and he could do no gobbling on the Queen-side). That's why Alekhine played 4. K-Q3. Now again, if Yates had countered by K-K 3 he would have been forced i nto a dis­ astrous retreat by White's K-Q4. So Yates played :

P-B5

K-Q2

4.

To take the Pawn would be tantamount to suicide :

6.

K-K2 !

Threatening K-B3, and th us forcing Black to play:

6.

K-K3

7.

K-B2 ! !

After this subtle move of Alekhine's his opponent resigned. For if Yates had taken the Pawn, Alekhine would have replied K-B 3, winning easily. Y et if, instead of 7 . K-B2, Alekhine 53

S PIRIT A N D MATTER

had played K-B3, h e would have lost the game ; deservedly so, for having gratuitously handed the zugzwang lash to his opponent. To be the Queen down (indeed, to have not a single piece left) and yet to be able to announce a mate in six--even this can be achieved at the crack of the zugzwang whip. Dr. Perlis did it when (having conceded the odds of the Queen) he reached this position : 1.

P-B5

Q xR

Black obligingly steps into the trap : 2.

3. +·

K-B I P-R+ B x Kt

Kt-Kt4 Kt-R6 Q x B ch ? ?

Unable to resist the lure o f a check, he misses his last chance : 5.

K-Kt1

and mate in (at most) six moves. To coin an English synonym for zugzwang was the obj ect of the second of our New Statesman competitions. It wasn't meant very seriously, for once a foreign term is as firmly estab­ lished in the language and for as many decades as zugzwang, it might well be considered 'naturalized', and it might be neither easy nor indeed desi rable to oust it. However, there were a good many ingenious entries, and some rather witty ones, such as 'Plank-walk' (Desmond MacCarthy and C. J. Prebble), 'Movicide' (Fisher), 'Goose-gang' (R. A. Cripps), 'Gadarene-pull' (E. Morgan) and ' Dreadmill' (which earned fifteen-year-old R. Jeff a con­ solation prize). Among the more practicable suggestions was Curtis-Raleigh's and E. C. Semler's idea to borrow 'squeeze' from bridge terminology, as well as Gerald Abrahams's ' Move­ bound', which got the first prize, because the entry was accompanied by this delightful 'movebound' position from a game played by Abrahams (White) in the 1 94 8 Lancashire Champion ship : 54

T H E E L E M E N T OF T I M E

1.

P-K t6 ch

K-B3

(to prevent K-Kt 5 ) 2.

R-Q l

P-Q6

(forced, so as to meet QR-K 1 with R-Q 5) 3. 4. 5.

R xP R-Q5 R-K8

P-Kt3 R (1 )-Q2 'movebound'

There are innumerable brilliant and instructive examples of zugz.wang in almost every Chess book, particularly, of course, in any collection of end-games, where zugz.wang positions most fre­ quently occur. It is a far rarer event to see the zugzwang lash operating in the middle-game, with most pieces still on the board. For this, the most brilliant example-'classical' by now-is a famous game by Nimzovitch, which he himself called 'the immortal zugzwang game'. So to describe one's own game may not be very modest, but in this case it was certainly a fitting description, and one no less generally recognized than that of Anderssen's ' Immortal Game'. It was played at Copenhagen in 1 9 23 (with Nimzovitch as Black), the victim on this occasion being Fritz Samisch : I.

2. 3· 4. 5. 6. 7· 8. 9· I O. I I.

I 2. I 3.

P-Q4 P-QB4 Kt-KB3 P-KKt3 B-Kt2 Kt-QB3 0-0 Kt-K 5 P xP B-KB4 R-QB 1 Q-Kt3 Kt x Kt

Kt-KB3 P-K3 P-QKt3 B-Kt2 B-K2 0-0 P-Q4 P-QB3 BP x P P-QR3 ! P-QKt4 Kt-QB3 B x Kt

1 4. 1 5. 1 6. 1 7. I 8. 1 9. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 55

P-.KR3 K-R2 B-Q2 Q-Q I Kt-Ku R-Ku P-K4 Q x Kt Q-Kt5 K-R I Q-K3 QR-K I

Q-Q2 Kt-R4 P-KB4 ! P-Kt5 ! B-QKt4 B-Q3 BP x P ! RxP QR-KB I R (B 1 )-B4 B-Q6 P-KR3 ! !

S PIRIT A N D

MATTER

White now i s i n zugz.wang. K-R2 o r P-K4 is countered by R-B6. And, indeed, nothing will be left to him but-to quote the winner's own comment-'to throw himself upon the sword'. In point of fact, he resigned.

56

4 THE DRAW EVERY tournament player has a healthy respect for the scoring value of piling up half-points, and one has but to pass a super­ ficial glance at a modern tournament table to notice with what clockwork regularity some of the Grandmasters pile up their half-points against their peers high up the table, with an equally solid succession of full points gracing their record against the smaller fry further down the list. Very sound policy that, and quite comprehensible in the case of professional Masters, whose reputation and livelihood depend on their tournament record, and who are only too well aware that a half-point more or less may make all the difference ; to say nothing of the fact that a half-point gained from a close com­ petitor means a half-point less for him. Inevitably, such considerations no less than the ever-stiffening competition in modern master practice leads to frequent exaggera­ tion of an originally sound principle. In recent years--o r, rather, in recent decades-we onlookers have had some ground to com­ plain about a growing tendency for 'negotiated' draws in com­ petitive master practice : dull, unenterprising games showing only too clearly that both players were afraid of each othei:, that neither wished to take a risk, and that they preferred to dodge the struggle before it really began in earnest. Such complaints often ignore what an ordeal modern com­ petitive Chess may well mean and how necessary it may be to seek an 'easy' day between two gruelling sessions. Since we do not sit in a glass house, it's easy enough for us to throw stones; as a matter of fact, for those of us (including this author) who play Chess merely for fun, it is easy enough to fall into the mistake of the other extreme : a deeply rooted prej udice against the draw, a readiness to risk almost certain loss rather than willingly to accept so 'dull' a conclusion. E 57

S PIRIT A N D MATTER

There are two mistakes in such a line of thought : first, i f no blunders are made on either side, a draw is the logical conclusion of the game; and besides, a draw certainly need not be dull. As a matter of fact, Chess literature abounds in draws far more exciting than many a decided game. Here-Hamppe-Meitner, Vienna, 1 8 7 2-is one of the most thrilling draws in Chess literature : Kt-B4 ch P-K+ I O. K x Q I. P-K+ 2. Kt-QB3 B-B+ P-R4 ch I I . K-Kt4 Kt-K2 B x P ch 1 2. K x Kt 3 . Kt-R+ Q-R5 ch 1 3. B-Kt5 ch K-Q r +· K x B P-Kt3 ch Q-B5 ch r +. B-B6 5. K-K3 Kt x B 6. K-Q3 r 5. K-Kt5 P-Q+ B-Kt2 ch r 6. K x Kt Q x KP 7. K-B3 B-R3 ch 8. K-Kt3 Kt-QR3 r 7 . K-Kt5 B-Kt2 ch Q x Kt ch 1 8. K-B6 9. P-QR3 A mere eighteen moves ! Yet what a fight before the sheer logic of the situation forced those spirited combatants to make peace ! A more recent and equally famous 'fighting draw' also happened to have eighteen moves. It was the momentous occasion (at Not­ tingham, r 9 36) of Alekhine's and Botvinnik's first encounter. Even apart from that game's specific importance for the score of the Nottingham Tournament, there was the general and indeed universal interest in the first meeting of the two greatest Russian Chess-players, so different in background, outlook, and, indeed, in style. It was certainly a dramatic occasion, and it is said that the excitement in the Soviet Union was even greater than in the Western world, and that each of the huge wall-boards in countless community centres attracted crowds by the thousand waiting patiently for every move of the game coming over the teleprinter. As for the two matadors themselves, so different in many ways and yet so equal in burning ambition and indomitable will power no less than in their mastery of the game, as they set down to face each other over the sixty-four squares, they must have keenly felt the drama of the situation and of an atmosphere so overweighted emotionally and, indeed, politically. Many of us thought that in such circumstances either of them 58

T H E D RA W

would be loath to take the slightest risk, and that the game, with all that consummate knowledge at the command of both these experts, would soon be steered into some safe drawing channels. We were all wrong, except that the game did turn out to be a draw, but not before these two had gone for one another truly 'hell-for-leather' and in most spectacular style. Here is what happened : P-Q4 P-K4 I. P-K4 I O. P-QB4 B-B 1 P-B5 I I. 2. Kt-KB3 P-Q3 Kt-Kt5 1 2. KP x P P xP 3· P-Q4 Q xP Kt-KB3 1 3. P-Q6 4. Kt x P Q-B5 5. Kt-QB3 P-KKt3 1 4.. B-B5 B-Kt2 1 5. R-K B 1 Q x RP 6. B-K2 Kt x P 1 6. B x K t Kt-B3 7 · B-K3 Q-Kt6 ch B-K3 1 7 . B x Kt 8. Kt-Kt3 Q-Kt8 ch 1 8. R-B2 0-0 9 . P-B4 When it comes to the really exciting type of a ' fighting draw', we can distinguish between two main types. The one occurs when either side has gone all out for a wild sacrificial attack and when, with a decision impossible, either side seeks a safe haven by per­ petual check or by repetition of moves. Of this both these thrilling little games are fine examples. But there is another kind of 'fighting draw', which though generally less spectacular, may well be even more thrilling. I am thinking of a fighting draw in the true meaning of the term­ the tough, patient, plodding struggle to defend an inferior position, to keep the flag flying against some material or positional superi­ ority which, so far as the opponent is concerned, may be j ust not quite good enough to win, provided he is up against the very best defence. One of the greatest uphill-strugglers of all times was, of course, Emanuel Lasker. He positively enjoyed defending precarious positions, and one of the greatest examples of that type of defence is his ' Marathon Game' against his namesake, Edward Lasker, at the New York Tournament of 1 9 24. After 80 moves and several adj ournments, the position shown on p. 60 had been reached, and at that point Capablanca, Alekhine 59

S PIRIT

A ND

MATTER

and other famous experts, exci tedly watch ing the ending, were pre­ pa red to bet 50 to 1 on a win for Black. Maybe there was an element of wishful thinking in so optimistic an assessment of the younger Lasker's chances, since he was a rank outsider in that great tournament, while the ' Doctor' (as Emanuel used to be called) was the leader of the tournament. That's why Capablanca (who had wrested the World Championship from him only a few years earlier), no less than Alekhine and all his other close competitors, had a considerable pe rson al interest to see their great rival dropping a full point against an outsider. However, the ex-World Champion coolly proceeded to con­ found the opinion of all those great experts and, figh ti ng back indomitably, saved the precious half-point which was to be of vital importance for his su bsequent achievement of gaining the first prize in that tournament. This is how the game proceeded : 8 1 . P-Kt6 R-Q2 K-K5 9 3. Kt-Kt2 94. Kt-R4 K-Q5 8 2. Kt-Kt2 R-Q7 83. K-B3 ! R-KB6 95. Kt-Kt2 R-Q 1 '84. K-K4 R-Q7 96. Kt-R4 R-K6 85. K-B3 97. Kt-Kt2 K-K5 R-Q 1 86. K-K4 K-Q3 98. Kt-R4 K-B6 8 7 . K-Q3 R-QB 1 99. K-R3 K-K5 8 8. P-Kt7 K-K3 1 00. K-Kt4 K-Q5 89. P queens R x Q I O I . Kt-Kt2 R-R6 90. K-B4 R-Kt6 1 02. Kt-R4 K-Q6 9 1 . Kt-R4 K-B4 K-Q5 ch 1 03. K x P 92. K-Kt4 K xP Abandoned as a draw. Pages of analysis have been written about this remarkable game, and no fault could be found with the younger Lasker for having missed a chance or otherwise slipped up against his great opponent 60 .

THE

D RAW

It j ust so happened that, against the very best defence, there wasn't a win in the position, and since the defence was conducted by what was probably the greatest end-game player of all times, it might well be said that the result was a foregone conclusion ; but that, of course, means being wise after the event. In point of fact, Emanuel Lasker broke new theoretical ground by his masterly handling of this vitally important end-game. True enough, that sort of staunch uphill struggle against material and oppositional odds is among the most truly 'dramatic' aspects of Chess-the connoisseur will probably prefer it to the more spec­ tacular brilliancies. Yet, after that marathon end-game of Lasker's we have fully deserved some light relaxation. Here is a rather amusing position, provided by one of the regular New Statesman competitors, R. W. B. Clarke. It is a case of 'double-perpetual', as it were. I.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7·

·

P-K4 Kt-KB3 P-Q4 B-QB4 P xP B x P ch Kt x P ch

P-K4 P-Q3 Kt-Q2 P-KR3 P xP K xB K-B3

8. 9. I O. I I.

1 2. 1 3. l f.

Q-B3 ch Q-B7 Kt-Q2 Kt-B4 ch P-B3 ch Kt-K3 ch Kt-B4 ch

K x Kt KKt-B3 Q-K 1 K xP K-B4 ch K-K4 K-B4 ch

Having thus reverted to the more spectacular type of draw, here, finally, is one more game which, for a double reason, is perhaps one of the most thrilling draws in Chess literature, the other reason being that it also contains all the dramatic aspects of a 'prepared variation' ; but thereby hangs a tale. The game was played by Halprin (White) against Pillsbury at the Munich Tournament of 1 9 00. Now, it should be remembered that at that time Pillsbury was at the very peak of his form and his fame. It should also be known that in those days he invariably favoured a certain defence of the Lopez, now obsolete. Halprin had studied this 'Pillsbury Defence' most carefully, and discovered a new line which seemed utterly to confound it. True, when it came to the practical test, Halprin got only a draw for his pains­ taking and ingenious 'home-work'. Yet, against the Pillsbury of those days, even half a point was a creditable achievement, to say 61

S PIRIT A N D MATTER

nothing of the novelty's theoretical value. I t starts with White's 14.th move-up to then it was all 'book'-and after quite a sequence of fireworks it reached its dramatic climax on Halprin's 20th move. But Pillsbury found an equally ingenious counter­ move, certainly the only one that would do. 1 . P-K4 2. Kt-KB3 3. B-Kt5 4. 0-0 5. P-Q4 6. P x KP 7 . P-QR4 8. P-K6 9. P x Kt 1 0. Kt-QB3 I I . Kt-KKt5 1 2. Q-R5 D raw.

P-K4 Kt-QB3 Kt-KB3 Kt x KP Kt-Q3 Kt x B P-Q3 P x KP Kt-K2 Kt-KKt3 B-K2 B x Kt

I 3. I 4. I 5. I 6. 1 7. 1 8. 1 9. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.

B xB P-Kt6 ! ! Kt-Q5 ! ! KR-K 1 ch R-R3 R x Kt R-B3 ch B-R6 ! ! B x KtP ! R-Kt3 ch R-B3 ch R-Kt3 ch

Q-Q2 BP x P P x Kt K-B I Kt-K4 P xR K-Ktx Q-K2 ! ! K xB K-B 1 K-Kt2

So far as Pillsbury is concerned, the most remarkable achieve­ ment, of course, was that over the board and with the clock inexor­ ably ticking away he found this ingenious refutation. No time for him to burn the midnight oil for hours on end, as no doubt his opponent had done, when thinking up all the intricate details of his clever novelty. Enough to prove that a draw can be anything but dull. Indeed, when it comes to the end-game, could there be anything more thrilling than some subtle way of bringing about or dodging the threat of a stalemate? Of course, the stalemate has provided much delightful contro­ versy in the Chess world. For a long time now, every ten or twenty years, someone has got up to discover that the stalemate is really unfair; and then, as likely as not, there are some heated arguments for and against so breathtaking a novelty as conceding three­ quarter points to the stalemater and one-quarter point to the one stalemated. For nearly a century this argument has been going on, but it is unlikely that it will ever result in a change of rules. We Chess-players, whatever else our opinions may be, are rather 62

T H E

D RAW

diehard conservatives so far as the rules of our game are concerned. I for one cannot see, anyway, why the stalemater should be given preferential treatment against the one stalemated. The point that matters was very neatly put one day by one of the most success­ ful New Statesman competitors, M r. Hamburger, who pointed out that 'the stalemate is the penalty for mauling without killing'. He earned a well-deserved Chess book token for that apt remark. I would certainly say that the stalemater should not have even an infinitesimal fraction more than the half-point conceded to him. If I were to discriminate at all between them, my sym­ pathies would be all for the other side, the one who gets stalemated, though, obviously, to give him more than the half-point he is entitled to would also be unfair. I think the stalemate is as fair a rule as any other, and, indeed, most deeply rooted in the very spirit of the game. I have once before quoted the mwrcx pe1 of Greek philosophy. There, I think, in that inescapable need to keep things moving, is the basic idea of the game no less than of life itself which it symbolizes so beautifully. Once the King, when challenged by the enemy, has nowhere to move-well, it is obvious that this spells mate and the immediate end of the game. But if neither he nor one of his officers and men can move when not challenged by the enemy, if thus the constant flow of the gam � which is its life force suddenly ceases-well then, of course, the game must stop. There's an end to it. Even if the possibility of movement were im­ mediately restored, there can be no interruption. Not a single heartbeat must be missed. The game must stop as soon as the inexorable duty to move--or shall we say as soon as the inalienable right to move--can no longer be fulfilled. If such a fatal hiatus is caused by an immediate challenge of the enemy-well, that's obviously a kill, a mate, or whatever we like to call it; but if it is not directly caused by a move of the enemy, if thus the sudden 63

S PI R I T A N D

MATTER

hiatus can be considered to have been brought about, regardless of enemy action-well, then obviously it is force-majeure, and, since it is inherent in the position, we might even call it an act of God.

What then